Chapter 24
24
Lorelei sat in the SUV and let her instincts settle around her. For months, she’d been doubting them, telling herself her instincts were wrong and that she needed to know and understand things in order for them to make sense, but that was bullshit. That was the amnesia and the uncertainty talking.
She knew who the fuck she was. And nothing was going to stop her from going into the fortress of a house and taking back what was stolen from her.
Lorelei knew Vinnie was going to be there, but she didn’t know what his team was doing. It was no longer her case to lead since her memory hadn’t fully returned, but Lorelei was happy to follow Adam’s directions and knew her partner would run a flawless operation.
With the search warrant in hand, the SUV parked beyond the gate with all the other vehicles. They were prepared for a fight. It wasn’t going to be an easy mission, but they were going to come out of it victorious. Lorelei had to believe that.
When it was time to move, Adam and Marcus led the way to the front. Their vehicles were surrounded before they made it to the house that Lorelei remembered with such clarity she had no doubt it was where she was taken. Where she was held. Where others likely still were.
The shootout started before anyone got to the mansion. It didn’t matter that they expected it, it clicked everything into place.
This was real. People were going to try to kill them. As many as possible. And someone was going to try to get away.
Lorelei moved with the other agents as a unit, working their way closer and closer to the door. As soon as they picked off one shooter, another took their place. The guy beside her fell, someone in front did, too, but the rest of the group kept moving.
They couldn’t stop.
When they made it to the door, they fanned out. One group went left, one right, and Lorelei went with Adam straight ahead. She knew that was the direction she’d been carried and demanded that as her path. Adam couldn’t refuse her.
The pop of gunfire echoed through the house. Screams of people in fear and the telltale sound of flesh hitting the floor added to the carnage. This level of security didn’t exist unless they were protecting something valuable.
Or someone.
Lorelei wanted to search her memory for the name. Something told her it was there. She knew who the boss was.
But she didn’t. So she kept pushing forward.
As her group followed the twists and turns of the hallways, it got down to Lorelei and Adam. They barely had to speak as they went deeper into the hell of the house that held more secrets than all the FBI combined.
Lorelei’s heart raced. Her body pumped with adrenaline. Sweat poured from her, soaking the clothes she wore beneath her bulletproof vest.
They didn’t stop. They kept moving, searching.
“Freeze,” Adam barked at a pair at the end of the hallway.
The two people stopped. One cried out, a female.
Lorelei followed Adam down the hallway, their guns locked on the two people. It didn’t matter that the woman seemed to be fighting to get away from the man, they were both there, which meant they were both threats.
Adam shined his flashlight on the woman, and as soon as he did, the man shoved her at them.
Unsteady on her heels, the woman tripped and landed on Adam, knocking him to the floor while the man took off down another hallway.
Lorelei didn’t move, her gun on the woman. She was barely clothed, her dress torn, no bra, and heels that cut into her red flesh.
Adam pushed the woman back, moving her easily. “I got her. Go.”
Lorelei stepped over Adam and the woman, knowing she wasn’t a threat. The woman sobbed and held her hands out for Adam to cuff her. She was more scared than anything and relieved to be arrested instead of carted off with the man Lorelei went after.
Lorelei moved through the halls, the air changing the farther she followed the man. It grew damp, like they were underground. The sound of gunfire was softer, too.
Where was he going?
Lorelei barely wondered before she heard a sound. She stopped, listening again.
An inhale. Quick. Close.
Lorelei turned toward the sound. She took a step forward.
He growled. A two-by-four came out of the darkness and slammed into her shoulder.
Lorelei stumbled backward, catching herself on the wall. Her gun clattered to the floor, skidding away from her as the man charged forward.
“Gah!” he yelled as he ran.
Lorelei blocked his attempt to get to her and landed a quick kick to his crotch.
“You bitch,” he hissed.
Ice cold fear ran down her spine. She knew that voice. She’d been taunted by that voice. In her dreams, yes, but before that, in the very house they were in.
“It was you,” she breathed without thought of her words.
“You remember me? I’m touched,” the man said. His grunt as he stood brought reality back to Lorelei. “Too bad you won’t be able to tell anyone anything about me.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because you’re not going to make it out of here again. I’ll kill you right here.”
He smiled, his white teeth catching the little light in the darkness. He raised his arm and didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
The searing pain as the bullet grazed her arm was enough to send her running. She took cover around the corner, spotting her gun a few feet from her, in plain view of the man who was trying to kill her.
Run and hide or fight back? Lorelei knew she didn’t have time to debate her options. She put the mask back on, knowing the other Curvy Vigilantes were somewhere in the house, sneaking out the women prisoners and saving as many people as possible.
Lorelei wasn’t going to run. She was going to fight back. Because she was a Curvy Vigilante.
Footsteps drew closer, and Lorelei knew she was out of time. She took a breath and ran for her gun. She grabbed it just as another bullet sliced through her, this one splitting her side.
She didn’t stop, just turned and fired toward the man, hoping she slowed him down enough to get a better shot.
His grunt and string of curse words told her she hit her target.
“Lorelei!” Vinnie shouted.
“Vinnie!” she called back.
Help was coming. She was okay. And the man who took her was never going to hurt anyone else again.
When Vinnie’s team breached the back doors of the house, he focused solely on his task. He and Molly moved through the house as one, clearing rooms and sending presumed innocents out for the FBI to interrogate. Their job was to take down as many people as possible.
Vinnie and Molly found Adam with a crying woman in his arms, the woman barely able to walk. She was scared, high, and injured.
But all Vinnie cared about was where Lorelei was.
“She followed the assailant down the hall,” Adam reported, his words immediately followed by the echo of a gunshot.
Vinnie didn’t wait for Adam to say anything else, he took off down the hallway. Vinnie knew Molly was with him, not hesitating to move deeper into the unknown.
Another gunshot echoed to the right, and Vinnie called out to her.
When she replied, he almost collapsed with relief.
He and Molly followed the sound of Lorelei’s voice and spotted her on the floor, covered in blood.
“Lorelei,” Vinnie breathed.
“Stop,” she said. “We’re not alone.” She pointed to the hallway that separated them.
Vinnie and Molly moved into position, Molly covering Vinnie so he could move around to Lorelei.
He made it across the hall without incident, and Molly followed a few seconds later.
“No one’s there,” Molly reported.
“What? He has to be. I shot him.” Lorelei tried to get up from where she’d propped herself against the wall, but Vinnie put a hand on her shoulder.
“Stay here. We’ll go check.”
Molly went first, and Vinnie followed. They moved down the hallway nearly a hundred feet and found no one. The darkness prevented them from seeing much, but there was definitely not anyone there.
They returned to Lorelei and found her passed out.
“Lorelei!” Vinnie shouted. “Don’t leave me. Come back to me, beautiful.”
Her eyes blinked open. “Help me.”
“Lorelei.”
“Please,” she whispered. Her lips were a breath from his. Every inhale brought her chest into contact with his. Every exhale took her away from him.
No one was going to take her away from him again. Not now. Not ever. She was his.
Vinnie scooped her up and nodded to Molly. Without a word, she moved with Vinnie, making sure Lorelei got out of there safely. They would send a team for the man who shot her. All that mattered was getting her help.
“Where are we going?” Nina asked.
The boss nearly turned and slapped the whiney bitch. She’d almost had enough of her questioning everything. “We’re getting the hell out of here. Do you want me to leave you here?”
Nina didn’t answer. Good. Maybe she wouldn’t argue so much after almost being arrested.
As soon as the alarm went off to let them know someone was on the property, Fernando was in the room and getting them out. He led the private security team that made sure no one ever touched her. Including her own people.
A grunt sounded to the left, and Fernando stopped them, putting himself between the women and the noise.
“It’s me,” Benjamin barked.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Fernando demanded.
“That bitch agent shot me.”
“Did you shoot her back?” the boss asked, stepping around Fernando to get in Benjamin’s face.
Benjamin stood upright, the pain on his face drawing her gaze to the blood soaking through his clothes.
“Is she alive?”
“Yeah. That fucking SWAT guy came.”
“And you ran away? Like a weak fucking piece of shit?”
“I—”
The boss didn’t give him a chance to defend himself. She grabbed Fernando’s gun from his holster and fired three silent rounds into Benjamin’s chest.
Nina squeaked, but she smartly kept quiet.
“Let’s go,” the boss said, stepping over Benjamin’s facedown body and continuing down the hall toward the underground garage that led to a series of tunnels and would get them off the property miles from where the cops thought they had them surrounded.
When they got in the SUV, Nina wiped tears from her cheeks and turned to the boss. “Why did you kill him?”
The boss glared at her. She was becoming more of a nuisance. More… compassionate. There was no space for that. No room for someone who thought what they were doing wasn’t okay.
“He fucked up. He had too many chances, and he fucked them all up. He wouldn’t have died if he’d done his fucking job.”
“You just left him there.”
“Yeah, because the cops will find him. And everyone will know what happens if you don’t do what I said.”
“But—”
“Do you want to be an example? Because I’m happy to make you one, too.”
Nina closed her mouth and turned toward the window.
She better fucking keep her mouth shut.
Lorelei woke up in the hospital the next morning with a weird sense of déjà vu. The pain in her side and shoulder were frighteningly similar to what she felt the last time she was in the hospital. But her ankle didn’t hurt, and it wasn’t as hard to breathe.
“You’re awake,” Vinnie said.
Lorelei smiled. That was the one thing she was happy hadn’t changed. “Hey.”
“Are you okay? Do you need anything? How are you?”
“I love you,” she whispered.
A relieved breath rushed out of him. “Yeah? So you know who I am?”
She stared at him, pretending to be unsure for a second.
His smile faltered, returning when she grinned.
“Yes, Vinnie. I know who you are. I know everything.”
“Everything?”
Lorelei nodded. “Yeah. I think being back there… Memories are flooding back in. Did you get the man who shot me? He was the one who kidnapped me.”
“He’s dead. They found him farther down the tunnel from where you were. It looked like he was trying to get to an underground garage.”
“Garage?” Lorelei breathed. It made sense. That was how they were able to move people and product without anyone noticing.
Vinnie nodded. “There was a network of tunnels that led back to the streets, way outside where we were looking.”
“So we didn’t find the boss?”
Vinnie shook his head. “No, but we saved a lot of lives. That’s what we need to focus on.”
“How’s everyone else?” Lorelei asked, remembering the massive team that went in, including her friends.
“Everyone is okay. A little beat up, but alive. We lost two cops.”
“Shit.”
Vinnie nodded. “Their lives weren’t in vain. There were seventeen women there, and we took some of the operators into custody. We will find answers.”
“When can I get out of here?”
“Soon,” Vinnie said.
“Good, because I’m ready to be anywhere but in a hospital.”
Vinnie kissed her softly and nodded. “Me, too.”
A few hours passed before the doctor told Lorelei she could leave. Her gunshot wounds grazed her skin and she would be in pain for a while, but there wasn’t much they could do for her. With the promise she would take it easy, Vinnie agreed to make sure she followed orders, and they left the hospital.
As soon as they were in his SUV, Lorelei called Adam to get a report.
“We’re at Stacey and Wray’s. Come over. We know we have work to do, but we’re celebrating bringing home so many innocent victims. People who get to have a life again thanks to you and what you remembered.” Adam sounded happy. Relieved.
Lorelei wasn’t sure, but Vinnie said they should go. Lorelei chewed her lip the entire time, anxious about ruining the mood. But she knew she needed to tell them everything she remembered.
No more keeping secrets. No more thinking she could do it alone. She was going to rely on her team, just like she did in that house.
Vinnie parked on the street and led the way to the Allen’s front door. Wray opened it for them, hugging both of them before welcoming them into the house.
“Where is everyone?” Lorelei asked.
“What’s going on? I thought we were celebrating,” Wray said as he led the way through the house.
“I remember everything. I need to tell everyone.”
Wray sucked in a breath, his face serious. He opened the back door and led them onto a deck surrounded by a wide yard. Kids ran in the yard, chased by Braden and Holden. The others were relaxing on or near the deck.
When they saw Lorelei, everyone came over to say hello. She greeted them all, hating that she was dragging down the mood. But it wasn’t over. Not until they took down the one in charge.
“What’s wrong?” Frannie asked. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”
“She remembers everything,” Wray provided.
“Everything?” Jessica asked.
Karli took her hand. “Oh, Lorelei, I’m so sorry.”
Tears popped into Lorelei’s eyes. She had fought so hard against the memories. The pain and fear she felt swamped her, and she ached to push it all away, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t let them win.
Which was exactly what would happen if she didn’t tell everyone what she remembered.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Stacey asked. As the therapist, it didn’t surprise Lorelei that Stacey asked the question.
What did surprise Lorelei was her nod. “I think that’s probably a good idea. But today, I need to tell you all the part that matters.”
“It all matters, Lorelei,” Adam said.
Lorelei nodded. “Yeah, but most of it is my own healing. I will get there. For now, I need you all to know who we’re after.”
“You know who’s behind all of this?” Marcus asked, moving closer.
Lorelei nodded. “There’s a boss. She’s pulling the strings. She’s leading everything.”
“She?” Raina asked.
Lorelei nodded again. “Her name is Gwendolyn Lennox.”
Frannie gasped and reached for Marcus. “No,” she breathed.
“Do you know her?” Adam asked.
Frannie looked up at Marcus. Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. He helped her sit. She closed her eyes and shook her head. She was quiet for a few minutes, then whispered, “Oh, God, it’s true, isn’t it?”
Marcus kneeled in front of Frannie. “Wow. I hate it, but yeah.”
“What’s going on? What are we missing?” Pryce asked.
Marcus sat next to Frannie. He held her hand and waited for her to speak.
Frannie pulled herself together and met the gazes of everyone there. “Gwendolyn Lennox was my best friend when I was in my early twenties. She ran a club for her father. The club where I got that mask. Gwennie was with me the night I witnessed Damon Street kill a woman. And because of Gwennie, and her twisted statement to the police, Damon was never arrested. He walked free for years.”
“No,” Raina breathed.
Frannie nodded. “She was right there for years, and I never saw it. Right there.”
Lorelei stared as Frannie crumbled, breaking down into sobs that echoed across the entire yard.
The truth was finally out. But it was worse than Lorelei feared. So much worse.
Gwendolyn Lennox watched the news report and seethed. Her compound had been seized. Her fortress searched by the police. Invaded.
It was only a matter of time before they connected her to it. Before they connected everything.
She needed a plan.
Her father never would have let this happen. She could hear his taunts now.
I told you that you weren’t good enough. Always said you’d fuck up and lose it all. What are you gonna do now? How do you think you’re going to save everything I worked my entire life to build? I’ll come back and kill you myself if you don’t fix this.
“Shut up!” Gwendolyn shrieked.
“I didn’t say anything,” Nina said, her voice scared.
Good. She should be afraid. “I wasn’t talking to you.”
Nina looked around the otherwise empty room. “No one else is here.”
“I was… talking to the TV. How dare they go into my home? Who do they think they are?”
“The police. And they said they had a reason to be there. This is getting close, Gwendolyn.”
“I’m handling it,” Gwendolyn barked.
“Are you? Because it looks to me like the cops are closing in. Maybe you should turn yourself in. Get out ahead of it. Blame someone else. Benjamin? Maybe Trevor and Damon?”
Gwendolyn turned on the little bitch she kept around to keep her sane. Sane? What a fucking joke. Nina was there because Gwendolyn needed someone she could trust.
And the bitch wanted her to turn herself in.
“Do you really think that’s a good idea? That I should just walk into the police station and say I was forced into it. I’m too weak of a woman and I let the people with dicks in my life control me. Is that who you think I am?” Gwendolyn grabbed Nina’s hair and yanked.
“No! I’m sorry. I was just?—”
“Just what? Just trying to get me out of the way so you can take over? You don’t have what it takes. You’ll never be strong enough to lead. You’re weak.”
“I don’t want to lead, Gwendolyn. I never?—”
“You’re right. You’ll never.” Gwendolyn tossed Nina to the floor. A kick. A punch. Another kick.
The bitch needed to learn her lesson. She needed to know who was in charge. And who was the fucking help.
Gwendolyn ignored Nina’s cries and beat her until she was too tired to keep going. She left Nina on the floor and stalked to the bed, pulled back the covers, and climbed in.
Tomorrow was a new day. A better day. A day where Gwendolyn would figure out what was next.
Without someone trying to convince her she was wrong about the choices she made. She was never wrong.